We’ve hired fantastic talent. Our team is highly experienced, humble, collaborative and passionate about building the business in the right way and meeting the needs of our customers and brokers.Christian Colombera
Managing Director for Australia and the Pacific Region, Everest Insurance International®
As part of Everest’s international growth strategy and continued expansion in the APAC region, Everest Insurance recently launched its Australia operation with offices in Sydney and Melbourne.
In an interview with InsurerTV, Everest Insurance International® Head of Asia Pacific Scott Leney, and Managing Director for Australia and the Pacific Region Christian Colombera, discussed the state of the APAC market and the opportunities ahead for Everest in Australia and across APAC.
Leney explained how APAC is an exciting region known for its melting pot of cultures, unique mix of emerging and mature economies, and leadership in early tech adoption. However, it also exposed to “the big, global, interconnected risks, just as other regions are” such as economic volatility, geopolitical, rapid technological advancements, and disruptions to global supply chains.
“Now, our mere location in the world means that certain countries in APAC are exposed to one or more of a number of catastrophe perils like earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones and typhoons. “And then there's the ever-present cyber risk. It's on the rise in APAC, I think that's well reported, and that's due to the rapid digitalisation, increasing internet penetration and tension between states.”
These interconnected risks not only pose challenges, but also present powerful opportunities for Everest to innovate and deliver value to their clients.
“All in all, it's a very dynamic risk landscape for businesses in APAC, but that's where the opportunity lies for us at Everest, to help organisations thrive with confidence and be more resilient, knowing that we'll be there to help them recover when they have a loss,” Leney said. “And the opportunity that we saw in APAC was to employ great people, provide a better service and overall experience to brokers and clients and be solutions oriented.”
“We're really pleased with the progress so far, and the feedback from the market indicates that we're on track.”
Everest’s focus on talent and culture are credited for driving their success both in APAC as well as Australia.
“Our people, talent and culture is what sets us apart and is our greatest strength,” said Colombera commenting on how the ability to build the Australian operation from the ground up is attracting top industry talent. “We’ve hired some fantastic talent. Our team is highly experienced, humble, collaborative and passionate about building the business in the right way and meeting the needs of our customers and brokers.”
In describing Everest’s approach to the market, Colombera detailed how Everest Insurance Australia specialises in property, casualty, financial and professional lines as well as the energy and construction sectors.
"Our focus is on the corporate and risk managed segments of the market, where we use our deep industry knowledge and expertise to really understand the needs of our customers and then develop tailored solutions with our broker partners to meet those needs.”
“It's really about bringing our capabilities, that deep industry knowledge I spoke about to that target segment, those larger corporate clients, and offering them something just a little bit different”, he said.
The talent, deep market expertise and One Everest approach, Colombera said, have been well received by clients. One client noted that “it was the passion and engagement from the Everest team that stood out, which drove their decision to partner with us.”
Colombera added the firm is “very positive” on the Australian market “that's gone through a period of remediation”.
“The rating environment is favourable and I think there's plenty of runway for us to enter the market and really meet the needs of those customers.”
As Everest looks to continue its steady upward trajectory and positive impact in the APAC market, both Leney and Colombera express their commitment to building a business for the future to meet the needs of their clients and partners and make a positive and lasting impact on the market.
This video interview and article originally ran in The Insurer with the title, “Everest leverages expertise to navigate APAC’s dynamic risk landscape and deliver value in Australia.”